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Elizabeth Frantes of San Francisco holds a sign outside of the Phillip Burton Federal Building. Barry Bonds arrives at Phillip Burton Federal Building on the Turk Street entrance Friday morning in San Francisco with his wife Liz. Lea Suzuki/ The Chronicle Photo taken on 12/7/07, in San Francisco, CA, USA

Photo: Lea Suzuki

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Elizabeth Frantes of San Francisco holds a...

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bonds_appear_085_ls.jpg Barry Bonds departs the Phillip Burton Federal Building at a Turk Street exit Friday morning in San Francisco. Woman in hat in foreground is Rosie Kreidler an aunt to Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds' sister. Lea Suzuki/ The Chronicle Photo taken on 12/7/07, in San Francisco, CA, USA MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT

The television trucks began arriving Thursday evening. The fans came before the sun was up Friday, wearing Giants gear and straining for a glimpse of their favorite baseball slugger alongside hundreds of photographers and reporters.

A little after 8:30 a.m., a black SUV pulled up to the Turk Street entrance of the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco, and the crowd surged forward. As bodyguards tried to hold back dozens of photographers, Barry Bonds stepped out of the backseat. The show was on.

The media crush rivaled the attention that was focused on Bonds when he broke Hank Aaron's career home-run record in August, but on Friday his teammates were lawyers, and the fastball was a federal case charging him with lying under oath about steroid use.

As Bonds and his wife, Liz, tried to make their way through the throng - including a cameraman who jumped on top of a police car to get a good shot - Elizabeth Frantes held a sign reading, "Free Barry" and yelled at the news media to leave him alone.

Other fans understood the hoopla. Juanita Gutierrez was heading to an appointment near the courthouse with her 3-year-old daughter, Angelica, but stopped to get a glimpse of the former Giants slugger. She managed to catch him in the lobby and did one better.

"I shook his hand and wished him luck," Gutierrez said. "I don't care (about the charges) - I'm from San Francisco, and I love the 49ers and the Giants, and Barry is my number one. He's even cuter in person."

After stopping to say hi to Gutierrez, Bonds made his way through the lobby and took the elevator to the courtroom on the 19th floor to plead not guilty. The lucky fans and reporters who had secured seats in the courtroom disappeared inside as well.

Photographers and videographers, who were not permitted to enter the building, lined up along the glass walls outside in anticipation of Bonds' exit. A handful of federal employees also gathered in the lobby to wait. State employees in the building across Golden Gate Avenue pressed their faces against the windows.

Outside, a pair of women wearing only lettuce-shaped underwear passed out tofu sandwiches as part of a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protest. Their point? "While Bonds and others may have voluntarily doped up to enhance their performance, turkeys and chickens are forced to consume growth-enhancement drugs that make them so top-heavy that they can barely walk," they said.

Bonds seemed unfazed by the crowds when he emerged in the lobby after the hearing. He smiled slightly, flashed a peace sign and waved to fans.

As he started to walk out, he spotted his aunt, Rosie Bonds Kreidler, standing in front of the metal detector, leaning on a walker.

Bonds strode over and stopped to hug her. His bodyguards moved reporters away.

Kreidler, the sister of Bonds' late father, Bobby, showed him several photos as she and Bonds chatted. She cried a bit as they spoke, and Bonds and his wife hugged her again and turned to walk away.

As reporters surrounded Kreidler, demanding to know her name, the slugger walked back over and put his hand protectively on her back.

"I just came to see my nephew and support him," Kreidler said.

Still helping his aunt, Bonds walked out of the building to applause and cheers of, "We love you, Barry." He parted ways with Kreidler, then headed through a barricaded walkway toward his car. Police and bodyguards tried to drive back the crowd, which almost knocked down the metal barricades. Then Bonds got back into the backseat of the black Chevy Tahoe SUV and was driven away.